Elevator-entrance toe guard



Dec. 31, 1929. I L. G. JACOBSON 1,741,941

ELEVATOR ENTRANCE TOE GUARD Fliled Sept. 12, 1928' A k 7 L A l l 1 l I l I I l I l l I Lud w g G.Jacobsbn Hla nunwre e. JACoBSON, or JAMESTOWN, new YORK,

'rALLIo noon COMPANY, or J'AMESTOWN, NEW

Fatented Dec. 31, 1929 YORK"..

NT OFFICE inssrenon "ro DAHnsrrtoM ME- YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW ELEVATOR-ENTRANCE TOE GUARD Application filed September 12, 1928. Serial No. 305,398.

This invention relates to an improved protective device for elevator entrance enclosures and particularly to toe guards adapted to removably cover the door sill.

In its preferred embodiment this invention provides a plurality of plates secured to the elevator entrance doors and adapted to prevent use of the door sill upon the shaft side until the doors are in their open posi- Elevator entrance enclosures have been and are now constructed with a door sill or sad dle which extends into the elevator shaft a short distance beyond the elevator doors.

The purpose of this ledge is to provide a close approach to the elevator when it stops at each floor. These ledges have long been a menace to the safety of individuals particularly children who have occasion to make use of elevators of automatic type. In practically all of the newer apartments automatic elevators are d in use and manyinjuries have occurred because of the failure to cover up all ledges accessible from" within the elevator shaft. Elevatorfentrance enclosures, at the present time, are provided with various forms of plates which conceal necessary projections but heretofore noprovision has been made by which to prevent operatorsof an elevator from ill-advisedly stepping upon the protruding door sill before the entrance doors are opened. In the elevators now on the market itis impossible to start thecar when tion.

the shaft doors are opened and thereforeit is only necessary to coverthe door sill when the entrance doors are. in their closed posi- In the specification which forms part of this applicatiomapplicant sets forth the vari- -ous details of his construction through the use of which'th edoor sill is covered when the entrance enclosure doors are in theirclosed position and which moves with said doors as they are moved into their opened position.

Theprincipal object of this invention is to provide a plurality of toe guards upon the sliding doorsof an elevatorentrance enclosure...

Vision of plates whichcompletely cover the Another obj ect of this invention is the prodoor sill when the entrance enclosure doors are closed and which move into a concealed position when said doors are opened.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from a consideration of the following specificationtaken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and in which Fig; 1 is an elevation of an elevator enclosure showing the sliding doors in their closed position with the door sills protected, being taken from the shaft side of said enclosure; 7

Fig. 2 is'a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View taken'from the shaft side of the entrance enclosure and illustrates the position of the toe guard when the enclosure doors are in their fully opened position, the dotted lines of this figure indicating one of the positions of the doors and toe guard during their movement from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in full lines in this figure;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view ofthe slow moving door taken on the line 4E4 of Fig. 1 illustrating the guard secured thereto; i Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view and illustrates in detail the manner of as sembllng the toe guards upon the elevator view of the fast movingdoor being taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.-

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, thereference nu-' meral 10 designates the structural supports for an elevator entrance enclosure. Thesupports 10 have secured thereto, in any suitable manner, an enclosure door sill or saddle 12 which is provided with tracks 13 and 14 adapted to guide the enclosure doors from. one to the other of theirpositions. v The sill 12, of necessity, extends into the elevator shaft beyond the shaft wall 15 in order that the floor of the elevator cab 16 may be in close proximity to said sill when the cab stops at each floor.

The entrance enclosure is provided with doors 19 and 20 adapted to completely close the door opening 21. The door 19 constitutes the slow moving door and the door 20 thejacent the lower edge of said door. The plate 25, along its upper and lower horizontal edges, is flanged outwardly from the door 20 to provide longitudinal pockets 26. The fast door toe guard 29 consists of a right angle tri angular metal strip provided with a horizontal opening upon one of its sides. By means of the flanges 30, which define this opening, the toe guard 29 is secured to the door 20, the flanges 30 entering pockets 26 formed in the plate. The toe guard 29 is made preferably from spring steel and is forced into telescopic engagement with the plate 25. The close fit as well as the tension of the guard upon the plate prevents it from inadvertent :1: removal. Attention is called to the fact that the wall 31 of the toe guard is of a distance equal to that of the overhang of the sill 12 and also that the hypotenuse of the triangularly shaped guard is at an angle sufiicient to prevent anyone obtaining a foothold thereon.

The toe guard 33 which conceals that portion of the door sill 12 in front of the slow moving door 19, is likewise triangular in shape and is provided with a full length opening in its lower wall. The flange 34 (see Fig.

4) terminates the sloping wall 35 and sufficiently strengthens said wall to prevent bending thereof should anyone endeavor to obtain a foothold upon the sill 12 by bending the rd out of shape.

guard 33, while covering the sill in front of the door 19 is not secured to the face thereof as is the guard 29 for the reason that this guard must move out of position to make way for the door 20, when the doors are moved to their opened position. This is accomplished through a pivot and link mechanism secured to the ends of the guard. Projecting outwardly from the rear of the door 20 and secured thereto is a bracket 37 (see Fig.

6). Two plates 39 and are made fast to the vertical wall of the guard 33 in any suitable manner as by bolts 41. These plates are each provided with a flange remote from and parallel to the wall of the guard, the flange of the plate 40 being slightly removed from the flange of the plate 39, thus providing a pocket into which the projecting end 38 of the brackd 37 extends. Suitably aligned openings are drilled in the portion 38 of the bracket and in the flanges of the plates 39 and 40 and a pivot pin or bolt 42 secures these members together.

Reference is now had particularly to Figs. 3 and 5 wherein is shown the manner of securing the rearward end of the toe guard 33 to the slow moving door 19. A reinforcing plate 43 is bolted to or otherwise suitably secured to the inner face of the vertical wall of the guard and a link 44, having an opening in the lower end thereof, is pivotally pinned to the rear wall of the guard and the plate 43. The upper end of the link 44 is pivotally supported upon a block 46 which is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the rearmost edge of the slow moving door 19. From the foregoing it may be noted that the toe guard 33 which protects the sill in front of the door 19 is adapted to be moved at the rate of speed assumed by the door 20 in order that as said door moves into the position shown in Fig. 3 and in .close proximity to the door 19, said guard may be moved out of the way. Since the guard 33, unlike the guard 29, is spaced slightly from the wall of the door 19, sufficient clearance is provided for the link 44 when moved about its pivot to occupy a position parallel with the guard when the doors are opened.

While the particular showing of this invention discloses but two doors 19 and 20 by which to close the entrance opening 21, it is to be understood that the structure above described may be readily adapted to an elevator entrance enclosure equipped with three moving doors. The factor which determines the position occupied by the guard 33 when the doors 19-and 20 are in their opened position is the length of the link 44. Should the entrance opening require the use of three doors instead of two, the present structure would be adaptable for use by the simple inclusion of a second toe guard similar to the guard 33 and pivotally secured thereto. The link 44 would then be of a considerably greater length and would be secured to the outer end of the second movable guard. The action of the fast moving door would move both movable guards through an are determined by the length of the link 44.

While only one modification of this invention has been shown and described, applicant does not intend to be limited thereto since it is obvious that other modifications or adaptations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as set forth in the following claims.

Having thus set forth my invention what I claim is new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent is:

1. In an elevator entrance enclosure including a door sill and movable doors, toe guards covering said sill, said guards being operably secured to said doors whereby when said doors move from closed to opened position, said guards will uncover said sill.

2. In an elevator entrance enclosure including a sill and movable doors, toe guards covering said sill adjacent the shaft side of said doors, means joining said guards to said doorand a further means adapted to move one of said guards from in front of one of said doors whereby both of said doors may be moved to their opened position.

3. In an elevator entrance enclosure including a door sill, fast and slow moving doors, toe guards covering said sill adjacent the shaft side of said doors, a plate secured to said fast moving door, one of said guards being telescopically engaged with said plate, and means pivotally locating the other of said guards in front of said slow moving door, said means being actuated by the movement of said fast moving door to remove said last named guard from its position in front of said slow moving door and from the path of said fast moving door.

4. In an elevator entrance enclosure. in

eluding a door sill and fast and slow moving doors, toe guards adjacent the lower edge of said doors, said toe guards, when said doors are in their closed position, extending over and covering a part of said sill, means telescopically engaging one of said guards with said fast moving door, a pivotal link mechanism operably securing the other of said guards to and in front of said slow moving door and a pivot supporting the other end of said last named guard upon said fast moving door, whereby, when said doors are moved to their opened position, the action of said fast moving door will move the guard from in front of said slow moving door to occupy a position out of the path of said fast moving door. 7

5. In an elevator entrance enclosure including a door sill projecting into the elevator shaft and fast and slow moving doors,

toe guards in front of said doors and covering the projecting portion of said sill, a plate secured to said fast moving door, one of said guards being in telescopic engagement with said plate, a pivotal link mechanism operably securing theother of said guards to and in front of said slow moving door and a pivot supporting the other of said guards upon said fast moving door, whereby, when said doors are moved to their opened position, the action of said fast moving door will move the guard from in front of said slow moving door to occupy a position out of the path of said fast moving door. 7

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

LUDWIG G. JACOBSON. 

